Weekly graphic. [volume] (Kirksville, Adair Co., Missouri) 1880-1949, 1887-07-15
WHY WE DON'T BOOM.

like the following: Boom the gas
well!' Boom the electric light
"Boom the town" "Boom the
county, "Boom the stater
"Boom everytllihgr' Boom! Boom
Boom!! Now it were strange thai
a boom did not follow all this out
cry, and the fact that it did not car
not be accounted for on the ground
| that all their booming expressions
were followed by commas instead
OF exclamation poi:lts. But leav.
ing the punctuation out of the
question the bald, hare fact still
remains that n boom has failed to
materlalize, and were it not for
the splendid prospects of the in
dustrious farmer, the boom would
now be IN a coma-tose condition
without any hope of a recovery
therefrom. While this condition
of things obtains, 1t might be well
to inquire, why we don't boom. A
town with the advantg ) that
kirEsville enjoys should always
be booming, winter and summer.
Not one Of those inflated concerns
that has collapse every sixty
days, but a boom that cllaracteriz-
es steady, healthy, substantial
growth. The fact is the only boom
kirksville ever gets is from the
farmers. Yet the cry goes up that we
need better class OF farmers
Now, let us see what encourage
ment Is given the farmer. With
the finest crop of wheat ever
grown In the county, he must sell
his wheat at a low price and then
pay two profits and freight both
ways on the flour that he uses.
Again, the hog crop is the chief
source of wealth to the farm ers.
Thousands of porkers are annual
ly shipped away, and tens of thou
sand of pounds of bacon are ship
ped in and sold to consumers.
Again two profits and freight both
ways are paid, because no one
cares to pack the hogs and receive
as a compensation the two profits,
and save the freight to the consum-
ers. With fine country for gar
dening, we buy our small fruits
and vegetables in other states,
while the surplus of the farmer lies
rotting Oh the ground. With the
finest lime stone in the state,
within mile of the town, the de-
velopment OF which would give
employment to many hands, we
continue to buy an inferior lime at
distant points, which ON account
of freights and cost of handling
quadruple in price what our own
superior lime would cost. The
forests have been stripped of near
ly every walnut tree and sold to
eastern manufacturers. The fine
hickory trees are cut into cord
wood and sold at $3.50 per cord,
when they would yield a vast
revenue if worked into wagon
timber.
Another cause of our failure to
boom is, the lamentable fact that, |
as soon as a man makes a few thou
sands in a legitimate business he
almost invarlbly begins to squan-
der it trying to find a better place.
This is is the unkindest cut of
all. To boom the town all selfish
ness must be set aside, and there
must be pull altogether, keeping
in mind the fact that contribu-
tions to an under ground
enterprises can never amount
to anything so long as the surface
indications of wealth are entirely
ignored or neglected. Is it any
wonder that Kirksville does not
boom? Only the other day a man
was heard to remark on the street
that he believed if the state were
to make an appropriation of twenty
five thousand dollars every two
years, to foster any enterprise in
kirksville, those who had the
management of the money would
get into such wraggle that the
appropriation would finally be
detriment instead of ali advantage
to the town. Now, shall we con-
tinue to depend on the farmer
alone, or shall we take hold of
every facility in our reach and